


Minerva's Adventures in Fine Dining

by Scarlet_Gryphon



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Dinner, F/M, Fine Dining, Fluff, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:47:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23076505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarlet_Gryphon/pseuds/Scarlet_Gryphon
Summary: Minerva's sure she's got this whole 'fine dining' thing down. At least, she hopes she does...
Relationships: Minerva/Duck Newton
Comments: 3
Kudos: 35





	Minerva's Adventures in Fine Dining

**Author's Note:**

> [Minerva's Dress](https://www.asos.com/us/asos-design/asos-design-halter-pleated-waisted-maxi-dress/prd/12921796?affid=25249&channelref=product+search&mk=abc&ppcadref=6537760440%7C80038604338%7Cpla-294682000766&cpn=6537760440&gclsrc=aw.ds&_cclid=Google_Cj0KCQiAkKnyBRDwARIsALtxe7gYr3rwWv80tmaWtNaTbTNdzdsnyRlqMTmmW2d8efHMS2uuFA__-WEaAib9EALw_wcB&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkKnyBRDwARIsALtxe7gYr3rwWv80tmaWtNaTbTNdzdsnyRlqMTmmW2d8efHMS2uuFA__-WEaAib9EALw_wcB)

Minerva had faced many battles, and had held her own against politicians and foes alike (though often they had felt similar if not the same). All of those times and the nerves she’d felt during them paled in comparison to how she felt now. It was foolish, she knew, to feel so nervous when it was just dinner with her beloved, but all of the Earth media and stories she’d consumed over the time she’d been on that planet had told her that dining out at a fancy restaurant with a romantic partner was an important part of a relationship. Minerva had gone to Sarah for advice, trusting the newest of her Chosen to guide her well in her preparations for the date.

Sarah had helped her pick out a lovely forest green dress that made Minerva feel both feminine and still warrior-like. It also had enough fabric in its skirts that Minerva was able to make some quick modifications to it with Sarah’s assistance that would allow her to access a weapon or two if needed without ruining the line of the dress. They may not be on a war footing any longer, but Minerva felt better with at least one blade on her, even if it wasn’t her sword.

Sarah had also helped Minerva with navigating the overwhelming selection of cosmetics available to those who wore them, eventually ending up with some basic staples that she could use for various occasions. Minerva was very grateful for Sarah, as while she adored Leo and Duck, neither of them had had much personal experience with what were considered feminine things by Earth standards. She did one last check-over of herself before leaving the bathroom and joining Duck in the living room of the apartment. The faintly stunned look her appearance earned from him had a curl of satisfaction settling in Minerva’s stomach.

“You look gorgeous, darlin’,” Duck told her. “Makes me feel like I should go change.”

Minerva shook her head. “You look wonderful as well, my Wayne. No need to change your clothes. Besides, we would be late for our reservation, would we not?”

Duck checked his watch and winced. “Yeah, we would. Alright, no changing. Let’s head on out.”

Minerva took hold of Duck’s hand and squeezed it gently as they left the apartment. The ride over to the River’s Edge Lodge was peaceful, quiet music playing in the background thanks to the CD player in the car. Duck pulled the car into a free parking spot, getting out and then opening Minerva’s door for her. She smiled at him, pleased as always by his good manners. 

The restaurant itself was one of the fancier ones Minerva had been to in her time on Earth, though its atmosphere was far more warm and welcoming than she’d expected. They were shown to a corner table by the hostess and then left to peruse the menus set before them. Minerva felt herself relaxing the more time went on. She hadn’t made any huge mistakes or given her outsider status away. It didn’t hurt that she was getting to spend time with Duck, something that never failed to make her happy.

Duck reached out across the table and took her hand, the action nearly unconscious as he continued to look over his menu. Minerva was glad for his divided attention, because she was sure the besotted smile on her face would give away her feelings on the situation immediately should he look up. 

“See anything you like, Min?”

Minerva shook herself out of her thoughts and looked down at the menu, reminding herself why they were there. Right. Food.

“I have not decided yet, but I’m sure I will find something soon,” she replied, using her free hand to flip through her menu. “Have you discovered anything that looks appetizing?”

Duck made the low humming noise Minerva had long ago meant he was contemplating the options before him before putting down his menu. “I’m thinkin’ the steak. ‘S been a while since I’ve had one, and I don’t feel guilty about it since Leo’s not here, y’know?”

A fond laugh left Minerva before she remembered to temper its volume. “You know Leo doesn’t mind others eating meat, just himself. Did he ever tell you why he does not eat meat?”

Duck shook his head. “Nah, I always figured it was just something he didn’t like.”

“There was a hunt for a Black Dog and he-” Minerva hesitated, doubting that Duck would want to hear a story of battle over a meal. “That story can wait until later, perhaps. Remind me when we get home.”

Duck squeezed her hand. “Will do,” he agreed easily. Minerva was thankful he didn’t press for further explanations of why she’d stopped her recounting, yet another thing she adored about him. She looked down at the menu, her attention caught by the description of a particular dish.

“What is ‘surf and turf’?” 

“Huh? Oh, usually steak and some sort of seafood,” Duck said, looking through his menu to find what she was reading. “Looks like it’s lobster tail right now. I think you’d like it.”

“Then that is what I will have,” Minerva decided. After all, if Duck thought it was good, she would trust his opinion. She’d found that his views on what constituted good and bad food were highly reliable, though she still wasn’t entirely sold on truffle salted popcorn yet. Their server came by and took their food and drinks orders, dropping off a pair of filled water glasses before leaving with their menus.

They passed the time as they waited for their meals to arrive in conversation about their work and news of their friends, both those still in Kepler and elsewhere. By the time the food arrived, Minerva was more than ready to eat, her stomach grumbling to itself and providing a steady undercurrent to their conversation. The food smelled divine to Minerva, and she wasted little time diving in. 

The portion of steak provided had been cooked to perfection, and it parted easily under the sharp knife and steadying fork that had been given to her. The lobster tail was a different matter entirely. There was an odd tool that the server had set down on the table along with her plate, but Minerva let it be for now. The lobster tail’s shell was too hard to cut with a knife and fork, that was for sure, but it also reminded Minerva of a  _ ra’sheac  _ from her home planet, and she knew how to deal with  _ those _ .

With barely a thought about how it would look to those not from her world, Minerva picked up the lobster tail and then bit down at its narrowest section, the hearty crunch drawing Duck’s attention. Minerva glanced up at the strangled noise he made upon seeing what she was doing, freezing in place before slowly lowering the now-partitioned tail back down to the plate. Immediately, guilt and shame welled in her stomach. 

She had messed up.

“I did it wrong, didn’t I?” she asked quietly, picking up her napkin and carefully cleaning her face of the sauce the lobster tail had been cooked in.

“Most people use the lobster cracker,” Duck said, and then shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, Minerva. You’ve never had lobster before, so you wouldn’t know. I’m the one to blame; I should’ve explained how to eat it. Don’t feel bad about it, okay?”

Duck’s kind words didn’t make Minerva feel much better. She was quiet for the remainder of the meal, using the tool- and now she felt doubly foolish for disregarding the obvious solution to her problem -the server had delivered along with the food to finish cracking open the lobster tail and removing its sweet meat from its confines. Minerva made sure to finish all of her meal, not wanting Duck to have wasted money on her, even if it mainly tasted of ash and regret.

As they left the restaurant, Minerva made to go to the car, but Duck stopped her and instead directed her along a side path that wound around the restaurant and eventually ended at a short pier that jutted out over the river itself. Minerva followed him gamely, curious to see what he had in mind. Duck stopped them at the end of the pier, resting his forearms against the wooden railing that ran around its edge.

“When I was four, my parents took me out to a fancy restaurant with my grandparents,” he began as Minerva joined him at the railing, bracing her arms next to his. “I was probably too young to go, but my moms wanted me to spend time with them, and my grandparents insisted we go out somewhere nice. Anyways, four year old me was  _ very _ excited to see my grandparents and eat fancy food at the same time.” He laughed quietly. “That excitement lasted until my granddad tried to get me to eat eggplant Parmesan. I didn’t want to have any of it. I ended up tipping the whole plate onto myself and making a giant mess. We got McDonalds after and my parents never tried to make me eat eggplant again.”

Minerva smiled lopsidedly, the image of a child version of her love covered in food faintly amusing. She could see what he was doing, and she appreciated it.

“What I’m trying to say is,” Duck continued on, “it’s not the first or last time someone’s messed up at a fancy restaurant, and at least you didn’t cause a giant scene that saw you banned from that restaurant until you were ten.”

Minerva looked over at him, the light from the half-moon above glittering on the water and across Duck’s face. She smiled and leaned in to kiss him, the guilt and shame from earlier washing away in the tidal wave of love she felt for the man in front of her. 

It may not have been the perfect fancy date of the movies and TV shows she’d seen, but it was perfect for them, and that was all that mattered.


End file.
